‘Flag march’ by Tirupur ryots demanding release of water

Coimbatore

In a bid to draw the attention of the government, the members of Vattamalaikarai Odai Farmers’ Welfare Association and residents organised the rally on the Republic Day.

The 600-acre reservoir inaugurated in 1980 in Uthamapalayam in Kangeyam taluk remains dry over the last three decades as there was no inflow. “Heavy rains caused the Amaravathi River to get flooded four times and upto 10 TMC of water was drained into the sea this year. Yet, no efforts were taken to take the surplus water to Vattamalaikarai Odai reservoir despite the issue being represented multiple times to officials,” said K Palanisamy, a farmer, who was spearheading the protest.

Lack of water in the reservoir has rendered many farmers to quit agriculture as over 6,000 acres of agricultural land were dependent on the reservoir. It was not an isolated protest as the Republic Day was also marked by a series of agitations by farmer bodies in Western districts against the farm laws.

Farmers took out a tractor rally in Tirupur in support of the Delhi protests demanding to repeal the three farm laws. The police stopped the rally taken out by farmers from Pongalur Union on the Dharapuram Road. Then, the farmers resorted to a road block resulting in tension for some time. After talks, the police allowed the farmers to go through. Farmers in Coimbatore also broke into protests against the farm laws.